Monday 23 September 2013

Apprehension

In two days I have surgery, and I'm apprehensive about it.  I now have a sharpened perspective of what 'one in one thousand'  odds of something bad looks like.

Since Mr Trifectagirl died, each month I get sinus infections, and until recently off I'd go to the doctor for a script for antibiotics.  I've just taken so many now that some have stopped agreeing with me, and we need to keep a couple available for future use. 

A bit of investigating a number of months ago, including a CT scan, showed that I have quite compact sinuses, so anatomically they're more prone to infection than the average person.  As such, surgery to open them up was put on the table. 

Not liking the idea of surgery, I looked at alternatives and found acupuncture sessions every two weeks kept the infections in check. Then my acupuncturist went on holidays and BANG, hello sinus infection. 

That was enough to indicate that I should probably have the surgery.  It won't stop me getting sick with colds and such, but has a very high probability of stopping something like a common cold developing to a sinus infection as well.

One up-side to surgery, a night in hospital with someone else cooking, cleaning & no small person taking up half the bed. 

Pity it's only an overnight stay.



Saturday 14 September 2013

End of an Era

This week, Mr Trifectagirl's mother passed away unexpectedly, aged 81.  She had been in hospital for treatment related to diabetes, which had been going ok, but must have taken a very sudden turn.  The doctors told me there was no expectation or warning of her death.  The nurses checked her, all ok.  Doctors did their rounds within half an hour or so, and she was gone.  The doctor who had to make the call sounded in dis-belief at the situation. 

We were not expecting her to last long due to grief after Mr Trifectagirl died, but she surprised us all in surviving a year.  I had money on her living another 10 - she was a pretty strong willed woman, and although restricted to bed or a wheelchair, still fairly independent getting out and about to lunches with friends and to church nearly every week.   In the end, she made it to 15 months.

She revelled in having J in her life.  She regularly told me that he's just like his father was at the same age.  I suspect J is what kept her going this long.

Nanna being gone means that here, J has no family from his father's side.  There are relatives in the UK, but not here.  I'm conscious of that potential gap in him forming his identity as he grows up. 

I am now in the process of organising a funeral, and yet again have a carport full of belongings that need to be sorted out.  All at a crunch time for University assessments, too*.

And dealing with the compounding of the grief that my mother in law's passing has added to the loss of Mr Trifectagirl.


* I don't recommend trying to do on-line accounting assessments the day you hear your mother in law has died.  You fail.  Spectacularly.   Thankfully it was only a small section of an overall assessment, but the full thing is due by 5pm Tuesday.  I'm now not expecting a brilliant final result.